Firm Details

Established more than 50 years ago, Bayard is one of Delaware’s premier law firms. The firm’s philosophy is simple—to assure client satisfaction by providing the highest level of legal representation and service for commercial clients in a timely and cost-effective manner. Bayard is known for the sophisticated specialization, found at larger firms, and the attorney accessibility, typically found at smaller firms. Bayard has nationally recognized practices in commercial bankruptcy, corporate and commercial litigation, intellectual property, securitization, and structured finance... Other established practices include entity formation, insurance, tax, estate planning, estate administration, and domestic relations. Bayard is the sole Delaware member of Meritas, the largest worldwide association of business law firms. The firm’s subsidiary, The Delaware Corporation Agency, Inc., a service company affiliate of Bayard, provides document filing services and information and document retrieval services with respect to the records of the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware.

MAIN AREAS OF PRACTICE

Bankruptcy & Creditor’s Rights: Bayard serves as counsel to debtors, statutory committees, trustees, and lenders, as well as other parties in Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases. It also represents parties in state court receiverships and insurance company rehabilitations or liquidations and out-of-court workouts. Bayard represents clients in a number of jurisdictions, but it focuses its practice in Delaware; a venue of choice for business reorganizations. It has participated in most of the significant bankruptcy cases in Delaware in the last two decades.

Corporate & Commercial Litigation: Bayard has broad experience in all types of business litigation matters in state and federal courts in Delaware. Bayard has substantial expertise in corporate litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery, the preeminent state court in the United States for the adjudication of corporate matters. Bayard litigators handle corporate governance cases, including contests for the control of boards of directors; corporate election disputes; stock appraisal cases; stockholder class and derivative actions; proceedings involving the rights of preferred stockholders and debt holders; and, expedited proceedings for the inspection of corporate records. Bayard also litigates commercial disputes in state and federal courts in Delaware and other jurisdictions. Bayard’s commercial litigation experience includes business contract, construction, mechanic’s lien, and environmental disputes.

Corporate /Mergers and Acquisitions/Alternative Entities: Bayard regularly advises clients in connection with Delaware entity formation and operation, governance advice, third party legal opinions, mergers, acquisitions, conversions and divestitures. Its attorneys are experienced in negotiating and drafting documents, providing advice on the requirements of the Delaware law, and rendering opinions of counsel on Delaware entity law and contract law. Bayard’s clients range from small businesses including non-profit agencies to large corporations. Bayard’s corporate transactional attorneys focus on transactions involving Delaware business entities, including corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies and statutory trusts. Bayard also handles structured finance and secured transactions.

Intellectual Property: Bayard’s Intellectual Property practice consists of both litigation and transactional components.. Bayard’s IP litigation practice centers on providing Delaware counsel to firms involved in patent litigation pending in the Delaware federal court, one of the busiest venues for patent litigation in the United States. Bayard’s IP litigators have experience in bench and jury trials before each of the Court’s judges, and in mediations with the Court’s Magistrate Judges. Bayard’s transactional IP practice focuses on advising clients on trademark and domain name matters, and preparing, prosecuting, and maintaining state and federal trademark applications. Bayard’s transactional IP attorneys also advise clients in connection with merger and acquisition transactions in which intellectual property assets are being acquired, and loan transactions in which intellectual property assets are serving as collateral. Bayard attorneys advise clients regarding software and intellectual property licenses and have experience drafting such licenses.

Taxation, Estate Planning & Probate: Bayard has significant experience in estate and trust planning, estate administration, asset management and disposition, business transactions, tax, and fiduciary litigation. Bayard counsels clients on estate planning involving non-resident spouses, creation of domestic entities by non-resident individuals and businesses, estate and business formation and restructuring, negotiating acquisitions, divisions, and sales. Bayard attorneys routinely assist with the Delaware piece of a client’s estate plan, e.g., by establishing asset protection, directed, or dynasty trusts, or by re-domiciling existing trusts to Delaware to benefit from its wealth-friendly trust laws. Bayard’s estate planning and transactional attorneys work together to advise on the formation and operation of captive insurance companies, and to incorporate the captive as part of a business owner’s overall estate plan.

Family Law: Bayard provides a full range of domestic legal services in the areas of divorce and separation, property division, child custody and support, negotiation of prenuptial agreements, and adoption.